For GMAT Verbal Notes

READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY.................................................................................................2 PREPARATION STRATEGY ...................................................................................................................................2 General Strategies for Reading Comprehension.....................................................................................2 Six most important types of RC Questions...............................................................................................3 TEST TAKING STARTEGY...................................................................................................................................6 SENTENCE CORRECTION STRATEGY.......................................................................................................6 PREPARATION STRATEGY...................................................................................................................................6 The 8 Major Errors Of GMAT English....................................................................................................6 Pronoun error.........................................................................................................................................6 Misplaced Modifier (modifiers must stay close to home).........................................................................8 Parallel Construction..............................................................................................................................8 Verb Tense...............................................................................................................................................9 Subject-Verb agreement errors................................................................................................................9 Parallelism (Apples + Oranges)............................................................................................................12 Quantity Words.....................................................................................................................................12 Idioms....................................................................................................................................................13 IDIOMATIC PREPOSITION USAGE...................................................................................................16

Acknowledgement : This material has been compiled with the inputs from various documents on the verbal strategies. Special thanks to Dave, Sahil and Scoretop.

Reading Comprehension Strategy

Preparation Strategy
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension 1. Try to read the whole text of the passage once, if possible. Many people think you
should just skim the passage or read the first lines of every paragraph, and not to read the passage. We believe this is an error: if you misunderstand the main idea of the passage, you will certainly get at least some of the questions wrong. Give the passage one good read, taking no more than 3 minutes to read all of the text. Do not read the passage more than once that wastes too much time. If you have not understood it completely, try to answer the questions anyway. Note: this point of reading the whole passage is important for test-takers whose first language is not English, provided that they can read the passage in 3 minutes or less.

2. Make brief notes on the text on your scrap paper. As we will see below in greater detail,
you should write down a couple of words on A) the Main Idea or Primary Purpose, B) Organization/Structure of the passage, and C) the Tone or Attitude of the author (if applicable). You just need a few words for each of these areas, and altogether it should not take longer than 30 seconds to write down.

3. Remember that the tone or attitude of the passage is usually respectful and
moderate, never going to extremes of praise nor criticism. ETS obtains its Reading Comprehension passages from real articles about real academics and professionals. So the tone of the articles, even when there is criticism in the passage toward an academic or her work, is always balanced and moderate. In the same vein, articles that deal with minorities or ethnic groups are almost always positive and sympathetic.

4. Look out for structural words that tell you the important ideas or transitions in a
passage. Continue the Idea Words Similarly Moreover Additionally In the same way Likewise Conclusion Words Thus Therefore Hence So In summary In conclusion Contradiction (Yin-Yang) Words Neverthless Nonetheless However But Although Though Even though Notwithstanding Yet Despite In spite of On the one handon the other hand While Unlike Traditional view / Modern View Before /After

 Generally Most people think

5. Go back to the text of the passage for the answers. Many test-takers fail to return to the
text of the passage to look for the correct answers. They rely solely on their memories and understanding of the passage after having read or skimmed it. Wrong. ETS is counting on that. Go back to the text to look for information to answer the questions. Nine times out of ten, the answer lies within the passage.

Six most important types of RC Questions

There are 6 most important types of questions for Reading Comprehension:

1. Main Idea/Primary Purpose Questions

Many people believe there is no difference between the main or central idea of the passage and the primary purpose of the author of the passage. This is simply not true. Let's take a look at the subtle but important difference between them: Main Idea The question might look something like this: "Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?" "Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?" "Which of the following is the principal topic of the passage?" "The main topic of the passage is...."

Primary Purpose The question might look like this: "The primary purpose of this passage is to..." "The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to..." "The primary focus of this passage is on which of the following?" "The main concern of the passage is to..." "In the passage, the author is primarily interested in...." "The passage is chiefly concerned with..."

Strategy: Main Idea: Look in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. Any conclusion words like therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that you see are most likely introducing the main idea. The correct answer will say the same thing as it says in the text, but using different words. The Main Idea is not always stated explicitly in the passage in fact, more likely than not, it is not stated explicitly. Therefore, in order to answer this type of question when it is more implicit: Re-read the first line of every passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This should give you the general structure or outline of the argument, with which you can answer the Main Idea question. After determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beyond the content of the passage, or that deal with content only discussed in one paragraph of the passage. Make brief notes a couple of words- regarding the Main Idea on the text on your scrap paper while you read.

Primary Purpose: What is the author trying to do? What is his intention? If he is evaluating a theory, then the answer could be something like "Discuss an interpretation". Note that the correct answer would deal with "an interpretation", because the author is only dealing with one theory. If the Primary Purpose is to criticize 2 new books, then his intention or his primary purpose might be to "Critique new studies". Again, as in Main Idea questions, re-read the first line of every passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This should give you the general structure or outline of the argument, with which you can answer the Primary Purpose question. Note: A good main idea or primary purpose does not go beyond the scope of the passage, nor does it limit itself to discussing only one part of the passage.

2. Title Questions
Title questions are very similar to Main Idea questions, though are less common. The passages in the real GMAT will not have titles. The title question might look like this: "Which of the following titles best summarizes the passage as a whole?" Strategy: Treat this as a Main Idea question. A good title sums up the central idea of a passage. Therefore, in order to answer this type of question: 1. Look in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. Any conclusion words like therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that you see are most likely introducing the Main Idea/Title. The correct answer will say the same thing as it says in the text, but using different words. 2. Re-read the first line of every passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This should give you the general structure or outline of the argument, with which you can answer the Title question. 3. Make brief notes a couple of words- regarding the Title on the text on your scrap paper while you read. 4. After determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beyond the content of the passage, or that deal with content only discussed in one paragraph of the passage.

3. Specific Detail or Target questions

Specific Detail or Target questions are probably the most common types of questions, and the easiest to answer. The question might look like this: "According to the passage,...." "The passage states that ...." Strategy The Specific Detail or Target that we are looking for could be a Line Number, or a Name or Date. Go to the Line Number or Name or Date, and then read several lines above and below it. Find the answer choice that basically says the same thing as in the passage, though usually with different words or word order.

4. Inference or Assumption Questions

This is probably the most difficult type of Reading Comprehension problem. The questions might look like this: "It can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions?" "Which is an assumption underlying the last sentence of the passage?"

 "Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the hypothesis mentioned in lines 17-19?" "With which of the following statements regarding chaos theory would the author be most likely to agree?" Strategy: First, treat this type of problem as a Specific Target question. Look for a target in the question, find it in the text, and then look above and below it. Often you do not have to infer very much, the answer remains within the text. If the answer must be inferred and is not stated explicitly within the text, then choose the answer choice that can be inferred or assumed from the information given. Again, you should not have to infer very much only one or two logical steps removed from the information in the passage. Make sure that the answer choice you decide on does not violate or contradict the Main Idea of the passage - if it does, the answer choice is probably wrong.

2. Attitude or Tone of the passage Questions

The question might look like this: "The author's attitude towards Morgan's theory could best be described as one of ..." Strategy: Look for descriptive words, adjectives or adverbs, that could tell you the author's attitude. For example, the words unfortunately or flaw suggest a negative connotation, while strength or valuable emphasize the positive. Make brief notes a couple of words- regarding the Tone of the text on your scrap paper while you read. Additionally, keep in mind that the author's attitude toward a theory, book, or ethnic group will almost always be respectful, even when somewhat critical.

3. Organization of the passage questions The question might look like this: "Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?" "Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph of the passage?" "One function of the third paragraph is to...." Strategy: Re-read the first line of every passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. This should give you the general structure or outline of the argument, with which you can answer the question. Remember to make brief notes about the structure of the text on your scrap paper. If you are looking for the organization of one paragraph, read the first and second sentence of the paragraph. That will give you a rough idea of what is the structure or organization of the paragraph. Some tips about reading passages: a. Read the whole text of the passage once. b. Make brief notes about the text on your scrap paper. c. Remember that the tone or attitude of the passage is usually respectful and moderate, never going to extremes of praise nor criticism. d. Look out for structural words that tell you the important ideas or transitions in a passage. e. Go back to the text of the passage for the answers to specific questions.

Test Taking Startegy

1) Aggressively read each paragraph for its main idea. If you cant write down in a few words what the point of each paragraph is, you werent reading actively enough. You should jot down the following. a. Main idea or primary purpose b. Organization/Structure c. Tone or attitude of author (if applicable) Note: Be careful to not write facts down. Itll bog you down and usually results in a loss of the big picture and moves you to focus too much into the details. 2) Note any trigger words, same train of thought words, yin-yang parallelism. 3) Weed out possible disputable answers. Vague, wimpy answers are often correct over stronger statements. ETS doesnt want to get many complaints that a particular answer that was strongly stated, that exceptions could arise. ETS would rather play it safe. 4) Minority passages are often positive in tone and answers tend to be positive in tone as well. Again, ETS, wouldnt want to look prejudiced. 5) Always eliminate bad choices first before answering. Youll almost always be able to narrow down to 2-3 and that significantly improves your odds of getting the question right. 6) Read the entire passage before answering the questions. Other books say skim, but its not always successful with more difficult passages where minute details change meanings of the passage and could get you going down the wrong path on inference or main point questions. Give yourself 3 minutes or less. 7) For Inference questions, (Note: these are usually the hardest of all RC questions) go find the general area being referenced. Read a bit above or below it and then make your choices. Dont go by memory. This is going to cause more problems than are helpful with saving time in the long run. Your answer should never contradict the main point of the passage. 8) Most people get main point and inference questions wrong so focus more carefully on these. 9) "According to the passage/author" question type of questions. Whenever you see this question, tell yourself, "Stop and stop thinking. I need to FIND, not think." 10) For main point or central idea type of questions, re-read the first and last sentences of each paragraph before making elimination choices and answering. Getting the overall structure is really helpful before answering. 11) In Summary: Consider weeding out answers that a. Are disrespectful to others/professionals. ETS doesnt like to be disrespectful. b. Too strong an answer. Use of words like only, definitely, positively c. Condone/approve prejudicial attitudes. ETS doesnt like to be disrespectful.

Sentence Correction Strategy

Preparation Strategy
The 8 Major Errors Of GMAT English Spotting bad sentences is the key to doing well on sentence structure test questions. Pronoun error There are 3 main types of pronoun errors encountered in GMAT.

a. Plural and Singular Once you start with one, you need to stay in the same quantity (singular or plural). Singular Pronouns (Memorize these) Hint: Do you see the categories I setup? Its SANE to memorize this Some--Any No Every Everyone Everybody Everything Anyone Anybody Anything Someone Somebody Something No one Nothing Nobody Either Neither Whoever Whomever One Each His

Be aware that group, jury, team, country, family are singular. Society today uses them sometimes as plural. This is because these act as a single unit when they do something. Plural Pronouns (Memorize these) Both Their Few Others Many Several

Singular and Plural Pronouns depends on whether the noun is singular or plural (Memorize these) Some More Most All

The plural and singular clause error When two nouns are in the sentence doing an action together but they are linked with i) Along with ii) Together with iii) With iv) As well as v) In addition to vi) Accompanied by this does not make the following action they do plural. Only and can take the two singulars and make their action plural. For example Janie, with her poodle limping behind her, walks to the dog park. Explanation: Janie is singular. The poodle is singular. They both do the action together, but the use of with means that we need to keep the verb singular. Walks is singular and Walk is plural. Remember, a verb that ends with an s is singular.

b. Pronoun reference error- referring pronoun is not correctly placed.

For example: In the sentence Samantha and Jane went shopping, but she couldnt find anything she liked., the pronoun she does not refer to a person unambiguously. It is difficult to understand that whether she is referring to Samantha or Jane. The correct form would be Samantha and Jane went shopping, but Samanatha couldnt find anything she liked.

c. Relative pronouns are often used incorrectly today.

1) 2) Referring to things or animals that, which Referring to peoplewho, whom 3) They be careful that you dont use this unless youre positive there is a referring noun. Today we often use they to replace the use of a proper noun which it is not. Its a Pronoun. Misplaced Modifier (modifiers must stay close to home) Sentences that begin with a verb, adjective+verb, and adjective phrases need to be followed by the noun or pronoun they are modifying. Usually end with ing. Example: Coming out of the department store, Johns wallet was stolen. Coming is the modifier. Was johns wallet coming out of the store? Incorrect Possible solution to look for: i) Correct the reference ii) Put a noun or pronoun into the 1st part of the sentence turning the 1st part into an adverbial clause. Thus can stand apart without needing to watch the modifier. Parallel Construction There are two kinds of ERS sentences that test the parallel construction. The first is a sentence that contains a list, or has a series of actions set off from one another by commas. The second kind is a sentence thats divided into two parts. Both types must have parallel types of verbiage: ..to ____, to ____ ate _____, slept ____, drank ____. Bad construction might look like: to ____, _____ ate _____, sleep _____, drank ____. There are a few more things to be observed in a parallel construction sentence. a. Comparisons must be logical and compatible Find the two things being compared and see if the sentence is structured in balance. Dont be afraid to consider changing verbs or adjectives to get the balance. The words "like," "unlike," "similar to," "asso", when and "in contrast to" are the most common indicators of comparisons. In comparisons, compatibility is determined by subject matter. For example: As domesticated animals, indoor cats typically lose their ability to hunt for their own food, so too do domesticated dogs come to rely exclusively on their owners for sustenance. Here, domesticated cats are compared to domesticated dogs, and the comparison works because they are both domesticated animals they are like terms. Whenever you see a comparison being set up in a sentence, check to see that the terms of the comparison are compatible. b. Parallelism is not just about clauses, but verb usage Example: -ing and ing, to to , either .. or, neither . nor.

In a series of two or more elements, what you do on #2 determines what you do on 3+. In other words, everything after #2 must match #2: I like to swim, to run, and to dance. I like to swim, run, and dance. are okay. I like to swim, run, and to dance. I like to swim, to run, and dance. are NOT okay. Verb Tense On the GMAT, tense problems are often just a matter of parallel construction. In general, if a sentence starts out in one tense, it should probably remain in the same tense. Some major categories of tense: Dont need to memorize types. Just be familiar a. Present tense example: He walks three miles a day. b. Simple Past example: When he was younger, he walked three miles a day. c. Present Perfectexample: He has walked. d. Past Perfect example: He had walked. e. Future example: He will work. f. Present Perfect Describes action that began in the past but continues until the present. Key identifier has have. Sidenote: Sometimes used when deadline exists. g. Past Perfect Describes action that started and stopped in the past. Key identifier had h. Present Progressive Used as emphasis by the speaker that the action is happening this very minute. Key identifier verb to be + a verb with an ing ending. i. Perfect Progressive Occupies more than one moment in the past. In other words, ongoing for a period of time. Key identifier had been One exception to this rule is a sentence that contains the past perfect (in which one action in the past happened before another action in the past). Examples: He had ridden his motorcycle for two hours when it ran out of gas. The dinosaurs are extinct now, but they were once present on the earth in large numbers. Two events that have taken place, are taking place or will take place at the same time must have the same tense in the sentence. Passive verbs begin with the form of to be (Example: to be, were, was) and end with a different verb in the past tense. Subject-Verb agreement errors A verb is supposed to agree with the subject. a. Singular + Plural agreement. Do the two agree in plurality? Can be made very complex when prepositional phrases separate verb from noun/subject by 5 or more words. Easy to overlook cross referenced subject-verb relationship. b. To tell if a verb paradigm is plural or singular. Mentally put They in front of the verb plural Mentally put He in front of the verb singular c. Verb plurality: (This comes up A LOT on the GMAT)

Adding an s to the end of an adjective makes it singular. For example, dislike plural dislikes singular quote: I chose A, but the correct answer is B. The majority of the talk was devoted to an account of the experimental methods used by investigators in the field. a. ... b. The greater part of the talk was c. The bulk of the talk has been d. A large amount of the talk has been e. A predominance of the talk was Good one!! "majority" should be used with count nouns only. The majority of the water is dirty. Is "unidiomatic," because "water" is a non-count noun. Just in case, count nouns can be counted (bottle, idea, person, brush, etc.); Noncount nouns cannot be counted (water, furniture, information, soap, luggage, etc.). There is, however, a lot of overlap between the two--beer, coke, coffee, material, love, etc. can all be either count or non-count, depending on our meaning, context, or level of formality. One of the most common questions is something like this: Do I say: "Most of the people is/are...?" "Most of the water is/are...?" Here's the rule: quantifier + of + NOUN + verb The NOUN determines whether the verb is singular or plural. For example: Most of the people is/are... because the quantifier "most" refers to "people," (a plural noun) so "most" is plural in this sentence. Most of the water is/are... because the quantifier "most" refers to "water," (a non-count noun) so "most" is plural in this sentence. So, from these examples, you should notice that we are looking mainly at whether the object of the preposition is count or non-count because the quantifier will take on this property from the object of the preposition. In other words, in these sentences: Most of the people are... "Most" becomes a count noun because "people" is a count noun. Most of the water is... "Most" becomes a non-count noun because "water" is a non-count noun. So, this rule tells us only whether the quantifier is count or non-count. To figure out whether the quantifier is singular or plural, we need to check one more thing...

Sometimes, a quantifier refers only to one thing, not many things. For example, each, every, and one always refer to one thing, but 10%, half, all, and most would refer to more than one thing if the object of the preposition is count (with one possible exception that I will show you in a second). Of course, if the quantifier is always singular, then the verb must always be singular, too. (Let's not forget our common sense in grammar, okay??) For example, we say: One of the people is... Each of the students is... Of course, when I first wrote out these rules, I imagined a situation like this: 1% of the 100 people is/are... because, of course, 1% of 100 is one, and that's singular, right? And there's invariably some student in my class who will try to find an exception (that's what I do in class, too!! My teachers hated it!! ) Anyway, I think most people would say that this is simply a bad sentence and should be rewritten. This sentence I've shown you is more of a grammar puzzle than a real sentence. But I know that somebody out there will want to know the "answer." Well, you can't go wrong if you write it in the singular, can you? The teacher together with the student IS (or ARE) going to...? The teacher and the student ARE (or IS)going to? Generally speaking, we need a conjunction to create a plural subject from more than one singular noun. "together with" is NOT a conjunction, and therefore cannot create a plural subject. "and" on the other hand, IS a conjunction and CAN create a plural subject. I'm concluding: "a number of ..." always takes plural verbs. "the number of ..." always takes singular verbs. Eg: the number of people has increased A number of people have gone The important thing here is that the number in the first example (the number of women employed outside the home) is an actual number--35,000, for example. Even if you add more women to the original number, there will still be one number, right? The second usage of "numbers" is also correct, and means that there are many people in that group. For example, it is correct to say: People are leaving California in greater numbers. People are spending more money on the Internet in greater numbers. Second, "curfew" is a singular count noun and therefore requires a determiner (the). I agree with you that skill can be both a count noun as well as a non-count noun. It all depends upon the context. Have a look at the example below: 1. Harry knows quite a few driving skills. Conversely, if were to ask Harry about his driving skills, I would ask. 2. How much skill do you have in driving a car, Harry? So you see, the word "skill" remains the same but depending on the context, skill can be a noncount or a count noun? With fractions, percentages and indefinite quantifiers, the verb agrees with the preceding noun or clause. With singular or non-count nouns or clauses, use a singular verb: One third of this article is taken up with statistical analysis. All of the book seems relevant to this study.

Half of what he writes is undocumented. About fifty percent of the job is routine. All the information is current.

With plural nouns, use plural verbs: One third of the students have graduate degrees. Fifty percent of the computers have CD-ROM drives. Many researchers depend on grants from industry.

With collective nouns, use either singular or plural, depending on whether you want to emphasize the single group or its individual members: Half of my family lives/live in Canada. All of the class is/are here. Ten percent of the population is/are bilingual.

This is another reason, and this one's a bit harder to explain. In a nutshell, though, we can't use a that noun clause with the word directive, just as we cannot with order, as hellogmat has pointed out. Parallelism (Apples + Oranges) This error is not a frequently encountered error, but it is worth knowing and practicing such errors. In such sentences, generally two things or items are compared. a. When the sentence compares two items. Ask yourself, can they be really compared? b. When the sentence compares two actions as well. Usually, the problem is with hidden comparison where two things or actions are compared, but another two items or actions are intertwined and you lose the comparison relationship. Example: Synthetic oils burn less efficiently than natural oils. The sentence is wrong because we are trying to compare how well each oil burns and not the oils themselves. But do you see how the actual thing being compared is easily missed? Quantity Words i. The words measuring quantity may be used incorrectly. For example, when comparing two items, it would be inappropriate to use among to compare them. Heres a chart: 2 items Between More Better Less if more than 2 among most best least

ii. Items that cant be counted should not use quantity words. For example, you cant say fewer soup. Heres a chart: Non-countable words Less Amount, quantity Much Countable words fewer number many

iii. When two distinct words or phrases are joined by the correlatives either, or, neither, nor, not only, but also, the number (singular or plural) of the word or phrase nearest to the verb determines the number of the verb. Example: Either his parents or he is bringing it (notice is is singular) This can be a confusing sentence because parents is plural, but we pay attention to he which is the noun he tells us that we need to keep is singular. Example: Either he or his parents are bringing it. Notice parents is plural and is the closest to the verb so we use are which is plural. Idioms Such sentences incorporate incorrect usage of idiomatic expressions. There are no rules. Really need good English familiarity. Overall rule: If its not one of the previous 7, then its very likely an idiom expression test question. Watch for the prepositions (to, the, of, at, for, on, in, about, etc.,) changing among the answer choices. This usually implies an Idiomatic problem, if not a Parallel Construction problem Major Idioms you should be pretty familiar with: 1) a debate over 2) a lot 3) a responsibility to 4) a result of 5) a sequence of 6) acclaimed as is the correct idiom (Acclaimed to be is wrong) 7) accompanied by.... 8) adapted for 9) Adverb twice cannot be an object of proposition by. Increase by twice is incorrect; doubled is correct 10) affect to.. 11) agree with 12) Aid in (Aid for is incorrect) 13) Allergy to (Allergy of, allergy for are incorrect) 14) Allocated to is the correct idiom 15) alternative to.... 16) as a result of... 17) as an instance of 18) as good as...or better than 19) as great as 20) as much as 21) Associate X with Y 22) assume ...to be of... 23) At least as strong as(At least as great as) 24) Attempt to do something (Attempt at doing is incorrect). 25) attend to (someone) 26) attribute X to Y/X is attributed to Y 27) based on 28) believe X to be Y 29) Believed to have 30) benefit from... 31) better served by X than Y .. 32) between X and Y 33) Both X and Y (Both X as well as Y is incorrect) Both at X and at Y is correct. Both on X or on Y is correct. 34) Business ethics - Is a singular word

35) 36) 37) 38) 39) 40) 41) 42) 43) 44) 45) 46) 47) 48) 49) 50) 51) 52) 53) 54) 55) 56) 57) 58) 59) 60) 61) 62) 63) 64) 65) 66) 67) 68) 69) 70) 71) 72) 73) 74) 75) 76) 77) 78) 79) 80) 81) 82) 83) 84) 85) 86) 87) 88) 89)

call...to consider... centers on Combined X with Y OR Combined X and Y (Both are correct) Compensate for Concerned for - worried; concerned with - related/affiliated conform to Consider X to be Y (a little controversial) contrary to... created with Credit X Rupees to Ys account (When money is involved) Credit X with discovering Y (Credit with doing something) decline in.... defined as depends on whether depicted as Descendent of (Descendent for is incorrect) Different from one another (Different one from the other is wrong) Distinguish between X and Y (2 very different items, distinguished, say red and green colors) Distinguish between X and Y (Distinguish X from Y is incorrect) Distinguish X from Y (Two pretty similar items, say original paintings from fake ones) doubt that either...or enable to entrusted with... Estimated to be (Estimated at is incorrect) expected that X would be Y ... expected X to be Y ... extent to ... fascinated by for jobs.. for over...XXX years... forbid X to do Y identical with forcing ...to... From X to Y (Grow from 2 million to 3 billion) (From X up to Y is wrong) Given credit for being ones - who had better(do) In an attempt to (gain control) in contrast to independent from indifferent towards Intent on interaction of ... Just as - So too May be (This is a word) is idiomatic, maybe (This means perhaps) is not idiomatic Mistake X for Y modeled after more than ever more X than Y ... more...than / less...than more...than ever... must have (done) Native of (Native to is also used in some cases) Neither - Nor should have parallel forms associated to it. no less....than No sooner than

90) Not in a flash but in a 91) not only...but also 92) Not so much to X as to Y 93) not X ...but rather Y .. 94) noted that .. 95) one attributes X (an effect) to Y (a cause) 96) One X for every ZZ( some numeric number) Y's ... 97) Persuaded X to do Y 98) Plead guilty for failing 99) Potential for causing 100) potential to 101) prohibits X from doing Y 102) range from X to Y 103) range of ... 104) reason.. that incorrectly seen as reason.. because 105) Regard as is the correct idiom -- Regarded as having, Regarded as ones who have 106) regardless 107) regards X as Y ... 108) replacing with... 109) Require that X be Y (Not require that X is Y) 110) research to 111) responsible for 112) restitution...for ... 113) resulting in 114) retroactive to 115) Same as X..as to Y 116) same to X as to Y 117) seem...to...(seem is plural) 118) so (adjective) that 119) So X as to be Y (So unreal as to be true) 120) So X that Y (So poor that they steal) 121) subscribe to 122) such...as 123) targeted at 124) that X ...that Y ... 125) That X is called for is indicated both by Y and by Z. 126) the same to X as to Y 127) to .. used to (example to get used to or to become used to) 128) to contrast X with Y 129) To exchange X for Y (exchange X with Y or any other form is incorrect) 130) to mistake X for Y 131) to monitor ... 132) to orbit... 133) To ratify (At ratifying is incorrect) An attempt to ratify is the correct use 134) to result in 135) to sacrifice X for Y 136) to survive 137) To try to fix is the right idiom (to try and fix is incorrect) 138) To worry about someones condition (To keep worrying over an action) 139) used in the construction... 140) used to (do) 141) viewed marriage as 142) way to provide (Way for providing is incorrect) 143) When rates means prices charged it should be followed with for 144) widely anticipated that.... 145) Worried about (When talking about someones condition)

146) 147) 148) 149) 150) 151) 152) 153) 154) 155) 156)

X [is] expected to Y X as Y .. X forbids Y to do Z ... X is attributed to Y X is different from Y (different than Y is incorrect) X is to what Y is to X is unknown, nor it is known - is a correct idiom (Neither is not required) X ordered that Y be Z'ed... X ordered Y to be Z'ed.. X ordered Y to do Z X prohobits Y from doing Z ...

There are three types of idioms that you'll see on the GMAT: 1. word pairs that go together 2. prepositions and the verbs that use them 3. standard expressions. Word Pairs asas morethan lessthan greater.than not onlybut (also) sothat (just) asso neithernor eitheror The movie was as long as it was boring. The workshop was more thrilling than anything I'd ever done. She was not only exhausted but (also) famished as well. The apartment was so expensive that no self-supporting student could afford it. (Just) as it is the duty of employees to contribute to the well-being of the company, so it is the duty of the company to contribute to the well-being of its employees. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

IDIOMATIC PREPOSITION USAGE Many idiomatic expressions tested on the exam involve prepositions. There's no overarching grammatical rule that tells you which prepositions go with which verbs. Again, the rules are determined by usage, so you'll have to "listen" to the expression and determine if the verb is followed by the correct preposition. Be on the lookout for commonly tested prepositions like "of," "at," "by," "in," "from," "to," and "for". If you have difficulty determining whether a usage is correct, try testing out the idiom in a simpler version of the sentence. Example: Although he was considered as a leading proponent for the controversial new initiative, the professor nevertheless sought refuge from the media uproar. The sentence above becomes: The professor was considered as a proponent. Does anything sound unusual? Could this sentence be worded differently? In fact, to be, not as, is the correct idiom: The professor was considered to be a proponent.

Would rather present tense if referring to myself and past tense if someone other than the subject is doing the action Example: Would rather I speak present tense Example: Would rather you spoke past tense General Grammar definitions So = therefore So that = in order to/in order that That = the fact that Conjunctions that can join two independent clauses are: and, but, yet, for, or, nor Dont start sentences with Because Words requiring how (example: know how) Know Teach Learn Show Always choose active over passive voice Active example: Elaine purchased new software for the company Passive example: New software was purchased for the company by Elaine Another frequently tested grammatical error is unnecessary use of the passive voice. It's a good idea to become familiar with this type of error; it appears quite often in the answer choices of sentence correction questions. As a reminder, the passive voice is in use when the action of the sentence is performed on the subject. The active voice is in use when the subject itself performs the action. Example: Active: Allison (subject) went (action) to the store to buy a cake (object). Passive: The cake (subject) was bought (action) by Allison (object). Preposition use To or Of needs subject + verb NOT object + verb Examples of subject: she, he, whoever, who, I Examples of object: her, him, whomever, its, it Either side of a form to be (were, was) must have subjects not objects on either side to agree. A verb that ends in ing is a gerund which is a verb acting like a noun. Try not to use gerunds if you can help it. Adverbs, not adjectives modify verbs Key identifier: Adverbs end in ly Correct example: I sure wish I were rich Incorrect example: I surely wish I were rich Word Usage Some pairs of words, like fewer and less, are often used incorrectly because they're treated as synonyms. In fact, there is a solid rule that determines which one you should use, and the exam will test your ability to decide which is the correct option. The exam tests four such word pairs with particular frequency, so memorize the rules pertaining to them if you don't know them already.

1. Fewer/Less
Which of the two following sentences is correct? The company fired no less than fifty employees. The company fired no fewer than fifty employees. The second sentence is correct. Why? Because you use less when you're talking about things you can't count (less pollution, less violence) but fewer when you're talking about things you can count (fewer pollutants, fewer violent acts).

2. Number/Amount
These words follow the same rule as less and fewer. Number is correct when you can count the thing being described (a number of cars, a number of people) and amount is correct when you cannot (amount of love, amount of pain).

3. Among/Between
Use between when only two options are available (between the red car and the blue car) and among when more than two options are available (among the five answer choices, among the many books).

4. If/Whether
Whether is correct when you're discussing two options (whether to get chocolate or strawberry ice cream) and if is correct for more than two options (if she should get ice cream, frozen yogurt, or a cookie). On the GMAT, whether will (almost) always beat if Incorrect: Her client didnt tell her if he had sent his payment yet. Correct: Her client didnt tell her whether he had sent his payment yet.

5. Compared to v/s. Compared with: To show comparison between unlike things,

compare to is used. To show comparison between like things, compare with is used. e.g. He compared her to a summer day. Scientists compare the human brain to a computer. (Unlike thing) The police compared the forged signature with the original. (Like things) There are two rules which you should consider. First read the usage notes from dictionary.com: Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things: He compared her to a summer day. Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer. Compare takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences: The police compared the forged signature with the original. The committee will have to compare the Senate's version of the bill with the version that was passed by the House. When compare is used to mean to liken (one) with another, with is traditionally held to be the correct preposition: That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel. But to is frequently used in this context and is not incorrect.

Rule 1: Compare to compares unlike things, whereas compare with compares like things. Rule 2: Compare to is used to stress the resemblance. Compare with can be used to show either similarity or difference but is usually used to stress the difference. There is a difference between compare to and compare with; the first is to liken one thing to another; the second is to note the resemblances and differences between two things. 6. Each This question tests one use of "each" which most of us ignore. The traditional rule still holds true i.e. "the subject of a sentence beginning with each is grammatically singular". But there is another rule which says that: When each follows a plural subject, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain in the plural: e.g. the apartments each have their own private entrances (not has its own private entrance) Three cats each eat ... Three cats, each of which eats ...,

In 1, each is postpositive Adj, whereas in 2, it is distributive determiner. e.g.

Television can be superficial, as when three major networks each broadcast exactly the same. Adverb clause of manner with temporal adverb clause: Television can be superficial, as [TV is superficial] when three networks each broad cast the same. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------quote: Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate. (A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks (B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks (C) superficial if the three major networks all (D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks (E) superficial, as when the three major networks each First of all, each, if it's a pronoun (as it is in A), is singular. In fact, each is almost always singular, but there's at least one exception, which we will see in just a minute. So, A can be faulted for using a plural verb, broadcast, with a singular subject, each. What I really like about A is that it uses such as, which we use to give examples. All the other incorrect answer choices use words that mean something different from for example. The best answer, E, maintains the same meaning as A, and corrects the subject/verb agreement problem. Please note that one of the accepted meanings of as is for

instance, and with this meaning, as is an adverb and can therefore be followed by parts of speech other than simply nouns. B is not only awkward, it also incorrectly uses if in the subordinate clause connected with can in the main clause. I think this is the part that is confusing people (it certainly is what has confused TestMagic students in the past), so let's flip the sentence around to see a bit more clearly that it's not correct to use if with can: If all of the three major networks broadcast the same statement, television can be superficial. This sentence should read: If all of the three major networks broadcast the same statement, television will be superficial. In other words, it's not correct to use can after if (in the context of what we've been talking about). Let's look at a simpler example: If the temperature drops below 0 degrees celsius, distilled water can or will freeze. Please post back with questions if you need clarification on this. Finally, it's better to use each than it is to use all, since each network is operating independently--all implies that the networks were working together. 7. That Vs Which Most often than not, in GMAT, which would be preceded by a comma in the sentence. e.g. Get me the book, which is mine. Which is used to qualify the book i.e. which is mine. There may be many books in the room, but I want my book. Which should always refer to a noun. E.g. Get me the book, which is mine. So, which here refers to the noun book.

Which should apply to things The other thing--which must replace a noun, not a sentence or idea.

e.g. Sales of United States manufactured goods to non-industrialized countries rose to $167 billion in 1992, which is 14 percent more than the previous year and largely offsets weak demand from Europe and Japan. which is 14 percent more than the previous year which is 14 percent higher than it was the previous year 14 percent higher than the previous year's figure an amount that is 14 percent more than the previous year was an amount that is 14 percent higher than the previous year's figure

B is incorrect, because which should refer to a specific noun in the preceding clause. That noun does not exist ( Rise of sales). So, it is replaced by an amount that is 14 percent higher So, E is the correct answer (Similar to the UFO example in princeton) That is a restrictive clause while which is a non restrictive clause. After people study GMAT sentence correction for a while, they may ask about the difference between that and which. But first, a testmagic tip: GMAT almost always (I say almost always because I've seen two questions that did not follow this rule, but the rule was violated in all five answer choices) wants you to put a comma before which. In other words, if you see which without a comma before it, it's probably wrong. After this explanation, you should

understand why, but for those of you who want only the most important information, this is what you need to know. An Example Both of these sentences are correct in GMAT land: Please go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine. Please go into the room and get me the big book that is mine. Yes, in GMATland, these two sentences have two different meanings. Both of the following sentences would be incorrect in GMAT land: X Please go into the room and get me the big book which is mine. X X Please go into the room and get me the big book, that is mine. X Notice the commas--that's what makes all the difference. The Explanation Okay, we have in English this weird idea that we need to use different grammar in an adjective clause (a.k.a. relative clause) depending on whether the information in the adjective clause is necessary to specifically identify which noun we are referring to. For example, imagine you have one sister, and you are telling a friend that your sister is coming to visit you. Since this person is your friend, we can presume that he knows that you have only one sister. You utter a sentence like this to your friend in GMATland: "My sister, who just graduated from college, is coming to see me." In GMATland, since your friend (we presume) knows you well and knows that you have only one sister, this extra bit of information is considered unnecessary to identify which sister it is you are talking about. It is a sort of "by the way" information--"My sister is coming to see me, and oh, by the way, she just graduated from college." Now imagine you have two, three, or even more sisters. Let's imagine that one is a college professor, another is a webmaster, and this one who is coming to visit you just graduated from college. If you're talking to your friend, and you say only "my sister," and you do not mention her name, your friend might not know which sister you are talking about. So you add that extra bit of information--my sister who just graduated from college--to identify which sister it is you are referring to. In this situation, we have just correctly employed a very important grammar rule. Read on. So, if the person you're talking to, or the person who's reading what you've written, needs that extra bit of information to know which noun you're referring to, we say that that extra information is non-restrictive. This word doesn't really describe the function clearly, so many teachers say that this information is "extra." On the other hand, if you need that information to know which noun you are talking about, we say that the information is restrictive. Again, this word is not really a good choice for clarity, and many teachers use the term "necessary information" instead. Finally, just to make English a bit more difficult, we have a rule that says we should use a comma before or after "extra information clauses and phrases," but not with "necessary information clauses or phrases." The idea here is that the comma represents the slight pause in speech or change in intonation that a native speaker might use when making such an utterance. I should point out that both that and which are relative pronouns, i.e., they are grammatically the same, but their meanings are slightly different. Now, let's return to our original example sentences: Please go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine.

In this sentence, the clause which is mine is "extra" because the information "the big book" is enough to identify which book it is that you want. We can assume that there is only one big book in the room. Please go into the room and get me the big book that is mine. In this sentence, the clause that is mine is "necessary" because the information "the big book" is NOT enough to identify which book it is that you want--it is probably the case that there are several big books in the room, so I need to add the information "that is mine" to identify which book it is that I want. More Examples A few more examples may help: I met with Bill Clinton, who is a lawyer. The name Bill Clinton is enough to identify which person I'm talking about--who is a lawyer is therefore extra information. I met with the man who is a lawyer. In this case, "the man" is not enough information to identify which person I'm talking about--who is a lawyer is therefore necessary information. The Sun, which is the only star in our solar system, is the source of heat for Earth. Again, the name "the Sun" already clearly identifies the noun; therefore, the information in the adjective clause "which is the only star in our solar system" is extra. The star that is at the center of our solar system is called what? In this case, since we don't have a name here, we don't know which star it is that we are referring to. Therefore, the information in the adjective clause "that is at the center our solar system" is necessary. A good rule to learn is that which requires a comma before it. If you're not sure about why the comma is necessary, please see this post. However, GMAT is very tricky at times, and can of course create a question in which this rule does NOT apply. In fact, I've seen a question that used which without a comma, but ALL the answer choices violated the rule. I.e., none of the answer choices used that; they all used which without a comma. Here's an example of what I mean: Lucise in San Francisco is a place which anybody can visit. (A) which anybody can visit (B) which any person could visit (C) which no person could not visit (D) which, if they wanted to, any person could visit (E) which any person could visit if they so desired I know some of you will think that this sentence is terrible, but the whole point of GMAT sentence correction is that we must choose the best answer, NOT the perfect answer.

8. The use of being

People who study for GMAT for a while quickly learn that being is usually wrong. So I'm guessing you already know that being in an answer choice is wrong more often than it is right. This is a good strategy to get you started, but to get over 700 on the GMAT, you really

need to know some of the finer points of GMAT Sentence Correction that relate to the use of the word being. There are at least two different situations in which being is often the right answer. Here is the first example of when being is correct: a. When the grammar requires it. Yes, I'm trying to simplify things here, but the idea is this--many ideas can be expressed in more than one way. For example, I can say: I'm afraid of being late. I'm afraid that I'll be late. Each has its own emphasis, but the point is that these two structures exist. (If I know my members here, I know that they will have questions about the difference, but please, let's start a separate thread for this.) Whether we can express ideas in one or more structures is really related to the word used; in other words, it is idiomatic. But some idioms allow only one structure. For example: In addition to being one of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and American tastes, Chez Panisse in Berkeley is also one of the Bay Area's most established restaurants. The idiomatic structure in addition to does not have a counterpart that uses a subject and a verb, so our only option here is to use being, which is grammatically a noun, but is derived from a verb.

b.

with + NOUN + being + NOUN COMPLEMENT The second example of when being is correct is shown in this example: There are many reasons to get an MBA, with increased career prospects being the most important for many MBA applicants. Technically this part here: with increased career prospects being the most important for many MBA applicants is an absolute phrase, but I think it's also helpful just to memorize the pattern: Framed by traitorous colleagues, Alfred Dreyfus was imprisoned for twelve years before there was exoneration and his freedom. (A) there was exoneration and his freedom (B) he was to be exonerated with freedom (C) being exonerated and freed (D) exoneration and his freedom (E) being freed, having been exonerated

C is correct. The main thing here is that we do not have the best option available to us:

before he was exonerated and freed

The second best option would be:

before being exonerated and freed

9. Because v/s. In That: When ETS puts because and in that in a sentence, more
often than not, in that would be correct. In that qualifies the previous sentence, while because is just used to show a simple causal relationship. Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.